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Macaron Tutorial

Thursday, September 03, 2009

When Spring and Summer roll around, I think in shades of pinks and reds. When Fall and Winter point their nose, I am all about the blues and the purples. Greens are oranges are not my colors. Nope. And yet, the first thing I thought about with the first sign of cooler mornings and breezy nights were Matcha and Peach Pate de Fruits Macarons. Enjoying the last bit of summer produce while cozying up to the subtle taste of matcha tea.

Lately, the mere mention of tea evocates long talks on the porch and a light chill on a late night walk. You can feel the air changing. I can finally feel some coolness under my feet when I let the dogs out early in the morning. I can almost hear the grass crisp up as we come down, ready for us. These first few days of September have really been quite Fall-ish and are probably temporary due a hurricane being just around the corner. Nevertheless, every time this lovely Fall breeze enters the house, we just stop whatever we are doing and enjoy for a few seconds. Even if it is short lived it is worth those few seconds in the day.

When I went to teach Veronica a three dayPastry Bootcamp, she not only gifted me with her hospitality and friendship, but with also a few stashes of vanilla beans, some saffron and a brand new can of the matcha she preferred to use in her macarons. I can see why. From the can to the finish product I could taste and smell the wonderful grassy properties of matcha. If you have never had it before, you might go "wow! what is that?" but trust me it grows on you real fast. It's unpretentious and absolutely delicious in pastry.

I know that our Southern peaches are near their end and I have been stocking, preserving and canning as many of them as I could. This season has been particularly prolific and tasty and as much as it pains me to say goodbye to stone fruits I am happily getting my taste buds ready for pears, pomegranates, apples and pumpkins. Each season is a new palette. Even if it makes me paint in greens and orange which I am so-so about! One thing I have made a couple of times recently is peach pate de fruits. It keeps well, makes great little gifts for my students and is just plain good when the fruits are ripe.

So...in my usual ways, peach in one hand and matcha macarons in the other, I decided to marry the two together in one little perfect bite, mending the bridge between Summer leaving and Fall approaching. Alright, so I was helped by a little mascarpone and vanilla cream in the middle. I had no idea that peach and matcha would be that delicious together. They are. I am making more this weekend!

On a side note, I know that Caitlin and Y are going to be disappointed that I did not do a talking picture post as we joked about while Twittering one night. I was starting to crack up looking at some of the shots and started playing around with captions. Here are some of the outakes for the macarons "beauty" shoot.One more little thing though before the recipe. There are people you want to meet and there are people you want to meet, eat and laugh with and learn from. For me, Tish Boyle is one of those people. I remember the morning I opened my emails and found one with her name as the sender. I did not click for a few seconds. Really. I turned to Bill and said "if this is not a joke, she emailed me" pointing at one book I love and that she co-authored, Chocolate Passion. I carefully clicked and held my breath. I turned to Bill with the biggest smile ever and said "Tish Boyle wants me!". And we both laughed. Or I snorted my coffee. I can't quite remember. She wanted an interview for the print magazineDesserts Professional, alongside David Lebovitz and Michael Laiskonis. Without hesitation, I emailed back "Yes!" before adding "I love your work". When she responded "I'm honored you even know who I am", I fell in love with her even more, if that was possible. Ugh, hello! I am supposed to say that! Thank you Tish, I am honored beyond belief to be in such good company in a wonderful magazine. You can check the article in their August issue.

Matcha And Peach Pate de Fruits Macarons:

Notes:Use eggs that have been preferably aged 3-5 days in the fridge. Pierre Herme uses eggs that are aged until they are almost like water, about 5 days. If it's good for Pierre, it'd good for me! The humidity, folding, aging of the eggs (the macs here were made with fresh whites) will affect the outcome. It's all a balancing act of chemistry and action.

For the pate de fruits:Notes: I use Certo liquid pectin so I can't vouch for how others might behave. I use a large stainless steel pot so the evaporation and cooking could happen faster.For a superb pectin free recipe, follow this recipe posted by the awesome Anita from Married with Dinner.

Prepare the macarons:In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar, almonds and matcha in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue along with some food coloring if using, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 280F. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.

Prepare the pate de fruits:Line a 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.Plce the peach puree in a heavy saucepan and add the lemon juice. Stir in 1/2 cup (100gr) saugar and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook until its temperature register 113F, stirring constantly. Add the remaining 1.5 cups (300gr) sugar and the pectin to the pot and slowly bring the mixture to 200F, still over medium high heat while stirring constantly. Turn the heat down a bit and keep the mixture at 200F for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the heat back up and slowly bring the mixture to 223F. Keep it there for an additional 2-3 minutes (turn the heat down if necessary to do so). Remove from the heat and immediately pour the mixture into your pan lined with parchment paper. Let set for a couple of hours. Cut shapes with a sharp knife and roll the pieces of pate de fruit in sugar. Refrigerate if not eating all of them at once.

Prepare the mascarpone-vanille cream:In a large bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla and the heavy cream and whisk until all the ingredients are incoporated. Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe a dollop of cream onto half of the macarons. Top with a square of pate de fruits and another macaron shell.

I love the combo of orange and green--gorgeous! Glad you went outside of your normal color palette for these! And um, if you ever make it out to Southern California I would die to be part of a Pastry Bootcamp! What kind of bribery would it take to get you out here?

What a fabulous post, filled with so many lovely words and delicious images, as always. I absolutely love macarons and pate de fruit are right up there too - so this is for me for sure! The photos with captions are too cute too, such fun. And congrats on the interview for Dessert Professional, hope we'll be able to see it online.

Beautiful. What a perfect marriage Helen! Don't know whether to laugh or to cry wondering if mine will ever look at least something like these. Love the combination, though have no clue what matcha might taste like. I love the colour! Congrats on the e-mail from Tish. These are good happening times for you!! YAY!!

Another stupid question... I'm wearing my dunce hat this morning... when we buy eggs from the grocer haven't they already been aging? And if that's so, I'm guessing you are talking about buying eggs fresh from a local grower and aging them? I'm not a baker (but I'd love to be one someday), so are fresh eggs recommended over store bought for all baking? I have a friend who sells them right down the road but I've never knew that it made a difference with baking.

Also, is there a book you would recommend for a beginner on baking? It really fascinates me but I'm so chicken to try anything new. I don't know why it's just ingredients - not someone's brain or something.

Amy J: the aging process for the macarons start after you separate the whites from the yolks, now matter how long they have been in your fridge. It's the process of beign aired in a greater oxygen filled space than inside the shell. There is no specific reason to use local versus store bought eggs if only to support local independent growers. I can't always get farm fresh eggs and macarons and baking in general works fine with either or.As far as baking books, Baking from Dorie Greenspan is a very good book to start with.

These look lovely! A friend just accidentally ended up with blueberry pate de fruit, after getting distracted during a jam-making session and adding far too much pectin. She's got a dozen jars of it now. I'll have to forward this along, so that she can see there are good things to come out of such a happy accident.

These look beautiful and I'm imagining the flavor combination now as delightful! I've only made macarons twice...I think they were undercooked but am not positive because I've only eaten them once, and that was in Portland, OR. I'm going to Paris this fall...Any recommendations of where I can sample a real macaron? Or maybe I could buy a box of yours?? :)

Helen, as usual your macarons are stunning! I am happy to say I made my first successful macs this afternoon and was thrilled when they grew feet, lol. Now of course I keep coming up with all sorts of ideas for my next mac project. Your tutorial from Desserts magazine was extremely helpful, THANKS!

I absolutely have to try your recipe for pate de fruits very soon. Sounds delicious

Oh I've been dying to use my matcha just to make macroons but I haven't found any time yet! You beat me to the punch! Which might be a good thing because I didn't know how much matcha I should put into the macaroons. I had made matcha buttercream, but put way to much, so much that it tasted kinda fake. So if you are not use to the flavor of matcha.. be careful how much you put in it. I need to do this soon!

Wow! Today's post was beautifully written. I could practically feel the cool, crisp air of fall. It allowed me to dream about escaping the heat (if only for a minute). Hopefully, we will catch glimpses of that cool air sometime around November (We're in Arizona).

As always, your photo's were wonderful. I wish I had half the talent. ;-)

What a creative way to use matcha in a dessert. The peach and matcha together sounds like a suprising, and good match. Would you mind telling me where your friend purchases her matcha from? I have bought it in the past with poor results.

Marzipanmom: I can't say "yes go ahead" like I can't say no. If you are proficient in the kitchen and in candy making I am thinking you will figure out how to handle frozen ones. My first instinct however is to advise you not too because of the extra moisture brought on by freezing and thawing. You would have to thaw and pat the peach very very dry then.

Hi Helen! It's great to "meet" you! Thanks for visiting my site. And yes, Sabra is an amazing person, isn't she? So, we must learn more about each other. I love Charleston. In fact, I'll be Colombia, SC, the week after next. Your work is lovely!

I've tried once, but my oven is very old and doesn't act well while baking, so I don't know if it was from the powdered egg whites or it was just my oven, but the result was disastrous. Next week I'm waiting my brand new oven, so I'll keep trying and if it comes something good I'll spread the word :)

Beautiful post (as always!) I love the flavor combinations & the colors: green, orange, and white. Like tiny versions of the Irish flag :) (I guess living in Dublin, my eye has been trained to recognize that color combination - haha!) So very beautiful, and I love the idea of pate de fruit in a macaron. Lovely!

i absolutely looove all of your macaroons recipes. i'm so in awe at how beautiful they come out!!! i wish I could eat every single one you make! i tried making pistachio macaroons for the first time primarily based off your recipe!. a little flatter than i would have liked, but more successful than i imagined it would turn out based on all the bad stories i hear about making macaroons. thanks for your blog! :)

I have a question maybe you or someone else can answer. I have been trying for a year to make macarons with somewhat succesful attempts. But my macarons always seem somewhat hollow what could I be doing wrong that would make them turn out this way? I am determined to get these down so any tips you can give me what be great!! Thanks so much and btw these look amazing!! ;o)

Pastrychefgrl: by hollow, do you mean some spave between the bottom and the top of the shell? That's quite normal actually and comes from the air in the meringue. They should not be dense like a regular cookie. If you want to send me pics, I'll be able to help you better once I get a visual (if you have any).

Sorry if this is a stupid Q but but when the recipe says "110 gr almonds" is it whole almonds or almond meal? My batter is really thick, almost like brownie batter so I'm thinking I'm using too much of something. Also thank you for all the great recipes, you are such an inspiration!

Camilla: I use either or depending on what I have on hand. If you use 110gr ground versus 110gr slivered the difference in volume is so little that it should not affect the outcome much. Sounds more like your batter could use a bit more folding to get to a proper flow.

Nick: you are not folding the meringue enough so there is still a little too much air in it to bond appropriately with the almonds and powdered sugar mix. It creates too big of an air pocket in between the base and the cap.